Case Study

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The Impossible Family Portait

This is the story of Denis who is separated from his home in Uganda but keeps in touch with his family and adopted son over Skype.

The Animal Family Portrait

This is the unique story of a zookeeper whose work visa had run out in Australia who visits with her animal friends at the wildlife park via Skype.

Growing Up Family Portrait

The last of the original series introduces 10-year-old Julia, who keeps up with her 12-year-old cousin in Brazil and shows just how delicate staying together can be at that age to avoid growing apart.

For each story, Singaporean photographer and visual artist John Clang captures these family portraits with a photograph where everyone is able to pose shoulder-to-shoulder…or hand-to-paw, or ballet slipper-to-sneaker, through a Skype projection on the wall. The result is a uniquely special family portrait that joins loved ones in the real and digital worlds.

A campaign blog hosted additional content, as well as a contest where people could share and vote on real stories of how they use Skype to stay in communication with faraway family and friends. A Bing interactive map also allows users to explore stories and view friends and family in faraway locations. This contest brought us our fourth and final story.

The Born Friends Family Portrait

The most remarkable story submitted in the contest was that of Sarah from Nappanee, Indiana, about her unique friendship with Paige from Auckland, New Zealand.

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